It is important to understand the different types of pipework. Responsibilities are different with each type of pipe.
"Drain" |
Carries waste and/or surface water directly from one house into a public or private sewer. |
"Sewer" |
Carries waste water and or surface water from two or more houses. |
"Private Sewer" |
Carries waste water and or surface water from two or more houses which are built after 1 October 1937, and will eventually join with a public sewer. |
"Public Sewer" |
Carries waste water from two or more properties built before 1 October 1937 (with some exclusions) or sewer adopted by the sewerage undertaker (SWW Ltd),usually under the highway. |
Who is responsible?
Drain:
- If you own a house you are responsible to clear and repair the drains, gutters and rain water pipes.
- If you are a tenant the landlord is responsible, but depending on your tenancy agreement, the landlord may pass on the costs to you.
Private Sewer:
- The owners of all the houses using the private sewer are jointly responsible to clear and repair it.
- When there is a blockage or break, the owners of the houses using the pipes up to this point are responsible to clear and repair it. Downstream of the problems, owners of houses are not responsible because their waste does not flow into the pipe at the point of the problem.
Public Sewer:
- The Sewerage Undertaker (SWW Ltd) is responsible to clear and repair all public sewers. They can be contacted on 0800 169 1144, make sure you have a postcode to hand.
- If owners of houses fail to meet their responsibilities, the Environmental Health Service will take formal action to resolve the issue.
What causes a blockage?
Drains and sewers can block for a variety of reasons
- Innapropriate items put down the toilet such as fat, oil, grease, disposable nappies, rags, cement etc For more information on what you should and should not dispose of please visit South West Waters website.
- Poor design e.g. sharp angles on bends, a very low gradient
- Roots in pipes from trees/shrubs
- Broken/collapsed pipe
What should I do if my drain/sewer is blocked?
- If it is a drain you will need to arrange to clear the blockage yourself. If you have drainage rods you may be able to clear a simple blockage yourself. Otherwise you can employ a drainage engineer to clear the blockage, who can be found in the yellow pages.
- If it is a private sewer that is shared (and not pre 1937), you will need to talk to your neighbours to arrange to get the blocakge cleared. There may be some neighbours who will not co-operate in which case you can ring us to ask for more advice.
- If it is a private sewer that serves properties that were built before 1937 you can call South West Water (0800 169 1144) and ask them to clear it. You may need to make the point that your house was built before 1937.
- If there are more than four people sharing a private sewer you should contact your insurance company, there are companies who have a
protocol with insurance companies which means they can co-ordinate and sort out the blockage.
Package Plants (Biodisk/Biobubbles)
These plants provide better quality effluent for BOD, ammonia and suspended solids. This means they are better suited to more environmentlly sensitive areas and should be considered before a septic tank or cess pit.
Planning Guidance
In accordance with planning guidance, ther prefered method of drainage is to conntet to the mains. In some areas this may not be possible. package plants is the next best alternative, then septic tanks and then cesspits. The Environment Agency provides more advice on how to chose the best equipment
Further Information
